Farmers from Karanja-Ghadge in Wardha district blocked the Amravati-Nagpur National Highway on Thursday, protesting the taluka’s exclusion from Maharashtra’s drought-affected list and demanding immediate relief for crop losses. The blockade at Nara T-point brought traffic to a standstill for some time, with long queues forming on both sides of the highway.
The protest was led by NCP (SP) MP Amar Kale, and included members of Swarajya Shetkari Sanghatana, social organisations and women farmers. Police reinforcements were brought in from Wardha as the gathering grew. Traffic was later diverted and regulated to restore movement along the highway.
The farmers said Karanja-Ghadge had received inadequate rainfall and was facing mounting crop losses, but was left out of the state government’s September 25 notification covering 265 drought-affected talukas. They said substantial cultivation costs had already been incurred, while the rainfall deficit had reduced the prospects of recovering those expenses.
The protesters demanded that Karanja-Ghadge be included in Trigger-1 of the state’s drought-relief mechanism. They also sought a blanket farm-loan waiver, the immediate opening of fodder depots for cattle and compensation of Rs 1 crore for families of farmers killed in tiger attacks.
The blockade placed a local drought-relief demand within a wider transport and administrative disruption. The Amravati-Nagpur highway is an important regional road link, and the protest temporarily affected motorists and other highway users as authorities worked to manage the queues and maintain vehicle movement.
MP Kale alleged that the government and local administration had ignored the farmers’ demands despite repeated representations. The protesters raised slogans against the government and submitted a memorandum to naib tehsildar PK Atram, who reached the site in the presence of sub-divisional officer Vinayak Patil.
The memorandum and the administration’s response will determine whether the demand for Karanja-Ghadge’s inclusion in the drought-relief mechanism is taken up for review. The state notification and any subsequent decision on relief measures remain the next formal steps in the dispute.
